The Lion King Details

On the spectrum of relaxing vacations to hectic vacations, a trip to New York City certainly falls pretty close to the latter. Visiting the City That Never Sleeps can be exhausting, even for a seasoned veteran of urban life. Fortunately, there’s somewhere you can go for two-and-a-half hours and relax, and adopt an attitude of Hakuna Matata—no worries for the rest of your days. That place is, of course, the Broadway musical production of The Lion King, where your favorite characters like Simba, Nala, Timon and Pumbaa are brought to life in the most dazzling way possible. You’ll see the brightest, most breathtaking costumes that Broadway has to offer, and you’ll be instantly immersed into the jungle, pulled in by classic songs like “Circle of Life,” “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.”

After becoming an instant classic as a 1994 animated Disney film, The Lion King was adapted into a stage musical soon after. With iconic names like Elton John and Hans Zimmer deeply involved in the process, the show attracted great interest from the second it was announced. It premiered on Broadway in November 1997 at the New Amsterdam Theatre, drawing rave reviews from all comers. Everyone seemed to agree: The show had captured the wondrous spirit that made the original film so enrapturing. “Broadway theater is alive again,” wrote critic Richard Zoglin for Time Magazine. “It's a gorgeous, gasp-inducing spectacle. Most important—against all odds—it has innocence. The show appeals to our primal, childlike excitement in the power of theater to make us see things afresh." A staple of Broadway since then, The Lion King is the third-longest-running show in Broadway history. For those who can’t make it to NYC, The Lion King also tours throughout North America with stops in cities like Atlanta, Kansas City and Dallas.

Theater comes in all different forms. So before you drop big bucks on the Broadway fan in your life, use this guide to help steer you to the gift that is sure to blow their mind--and maybe even change…

Everybody knows Disney's classic 1994 animated film, The Lion King. Ya know, the coming-of-age story of Simba, the young cub set to take over the kingdom from his father, Mufasa? Mufasa tells Simba th…